Qin squinted his eyes, glancing at the three black-robed cultivators sitting cross-legged, and the Iron-Blooded Fiendish Gourd beside them. He decisively abandoned the thought of making a move and opted to leave. Killing these three cultivators, at the eighth and ninth levels of Qi Condensation, wouldn't be excessively difficult, but it would still consume some time.

He dared not risk what unexpected changes might occur in the short time it took.

If he encountered the 'Ancestor' they mentioned in this dense wood, the situation would become extremely unfavorable.

Moreover, Ye Qin had no idea about the origins of these three cultivators who exuded a sinister aura. What if he inadvertently offended some powerful cultivation force in this region, inviting significant trouble? That would be asking for misery. For the sake of a few high-grade spirit gourds, staking his own safety was not worth it.

With that thought, Ye Qin instantly transformed into a wisp of light smoke and drifted towards the edge of the woods, preparing to depart this den of conflict.

But just then, his expression abruptly shifted. He quickly cast his gaze left and right within the woods, then swiftly concealed himself within a thicket of dense, easy-to-hide foliage, meticulously suppressing his aura.

A large monk with an oily, puffy face, wielding a staff, led four monks clad in brightly colored saffron robes, rushing from afar and stopping abruptly at the edge of the forest.

Ye Qin observed them from his hidden spot. He easily discerned that the leader among these monks was a cultivator at the early Foundation Establishment stage, while the other four were high-level Qi Condensation cultivators. This group possessed considerable strength.

Ye Qin wished to avoid any direct encounter that might spark trouble, so he concealed himself beforehand. Due to cultivating the Sitting-and-Forgetting Scripture, his skill in suppressing his aura had reached an exceptional level. Once his breath was drawn in, his entire being became like a stubborn rock or a dead branch in the forest, exceptionally difficult to detect. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators of the same level would struggle immensely to track his presence with their divine senses. He had tested this back when he was at the Azure Pill Sect. The effectiveness of this technique was even greater than the standard Aura Concealment Art.

These monks clearly had not sensed Ye Qin's presence either. They glanced up at the sky above the woods and noticed the blood-colored malevolent energy permeating the air was slowly being drawn into a specific location within the forest. Their expressions immediately changed, turning furious, and they roared out, "Not good! Someone is collecting the malevolent energy here before us!" "Insolence! Who dares to snatch food from our Demon Buddha Palace? Are they tired of living?!" "Go in and check quickly!"

The bulky monk, possessing Foundation Establishment cultivation, spotted the few Qi Condensation cultivators inside the woods. He charged into the forest with the remaining four monks.

The three black-robed cultivators, who were currently collecting the malevolent energy, had already detected the potent auras emanating from these monks the moment they appeared at the forest's edge. They urgently worked together to deploy a protective shield.

Simultaneously, they each retrieved their spirit artifacts and unleashed dense poisonous miasma to prevent the monks from approaching.

The large monk waved his sleeve, summoning a fierce gust of wind to dispel the surrounding miasma. The other four monks, armed with bladed spirit artifacts, fiercely attacked the protective barrier surrounding the three black-robed cultivators. Fierce fighting, shouts, and curses echoed from within the forest.

Ye Qin frowned after listening for just a few exchanges.

The three black-robed cultivators from earlier, who carried skeletons, and these later monks with their bizarre attire, turned out to be cultivators of the Evil Path. They were fighting fiercely over the Iron-Blooded Fiendish Aura.

However, the three black-robed cultivators were all at the Qi Condensation stage; they were no match for the four or five monks.

Panic setting in, they desperately held up their light shield, shouting curses, "Monks of the Demon Buddha Palace, what do you want?" "We are disciples under the Red Cloud Ancestor of the Red Cloud Sect! Do not push us too far, or the Red Cloud Sect is not to be trifled with. If you kill us, it will be an irreconcilable feud!"

The complexions of the monks draped in bright red robes shifted slightly; not only did they not cease their assault, but they attacked with greater intensity. "The old fiend Red Cloud? Hmph, isn't that old fellow staying in his lair at Red Cloud Mountain? When did he travel to the Northern Qi Kingdom? What did he send you here to do? To collect malevolent energy here?"

One black-robed cultivator hastily replied, "That is correct. How about we split the malevolent energy here equally? In three or five hours, all the Iron-Blooded Fiendish Aura here will disappear. Wouldn't it be a pity to let this precious Iron-Blooded Fiendish Aura vanish into thin air?! Instead of wasting it, let us take it away together. There is enough malevolent energy here for all of us to share."

"Hmph, people of my Demon Buddha Palace never share with others. Besides, you haven't weighed yourselves properly. What qualifications do a few minor members of the Red Cloud Sect have to fight me for the malevolent energy here! Old Fiend Red Cloud wouldn't have the spare time to stand up for a few small figures like you. Consider yourselves unlucky to run into me, Monk Huang Long. Die!"

The large monk, whose face was covered in coarse flesh and looked vicious, let out a cold laugh. Seeing that his four monks had failed to break the shield of the three black-robed cultivators after a long time, he grew impatient. He violently swung his staff, unleashing a yellow earth dragon, ten feet long, that shot out from the tip of the staff. Its fierce claws slammed into the protective shield.

After just two or three strikes, the shield shattered with a "crack."

The three black-robed cultivators were terrified and turned to flee. Unfortunately, it was too late. Two of them were caught and struck by that overbearing yellow earth dragon. "Ah, ah—!" Two consecutive screams rang out.

The two black-robed cultivators were instantly ripped apart and died, turning into a pool of blood and flesh paste.

The last remaining black-robed cultivator was surrounded by the four monks, his face ashen—he could only sit and await death. Whether he fought or fled, there was no possibility of defeating the five monks before him.

Ye Qin pondered inwardly, confused. Red Cloud Sect, Demon Buddha Palace—these names suggested two quite large cultivation sects. Yet, during his time at the Azure Pill Sect, he had never heard of the existence of these two major sects within the Spiritual Mist Cultivation Realm.

As he was thinking, his heart suddenly tightened. He looked toward the distant sky, feeling an immense sense of crisis and oppression that prevented him from daring to move even a finger.

Just as Ye Qin began to sense danger—

An incomparably powerful divine sense swept across the entire expanse of several miles of woods, originating from the distance.

"Gagaga! Who is bullying my Red Cloud Sect children? Your Old Ancestor Red Cloud cherishes his disciples dearly!" A bizarre, eerie, cold laugh drifted from the horizon. Following the sound, a demonic, blood-colored cloud mass, hundreds of feet wide, shot in rapidly from the distant horizon, enveloping the woods overhead in the blink of an eye.

The voice was chillingly cold, causing the blood in people’s veins to freeze almost instantly. The low-level Qi Condensation monks in the woods, clutching their blades and swords, could not remain standing. Biting their trembling teeth, they collapsed directly onto the ground.

Only the Foundation Establishment monk could barely remain upright. He had never expected the Red Cloud Ancestor to arrive in person, and to be there as soon as he spoke of it! His face changed dramatically. Without a second thought, he frantically fled, tossing his staff into the air. It transformed into a small yellow flying dragon, tumbling haphazardly toward the edge of the woods.

The black-robed cultivator who had been facing certain death, however, was overjoyed. He crawled and scrambled to the ground, weeping loudly, "Ancestor! Your disciple was here collecting the Iron-Blooded Fiendish Aura for you, but these monks from the Demon Buddha Palace obstructed us and tried to steal the aura, even saying our Red Cloud Sect amounted to nothing, and summarily killing two of the Red Cloud Sect disciples. Ancestor, please seek justice for your wrongly slain disciples!"

That strange red cloud seemed enraged.

"A few little bald donkeys from the Buddha Palace dare to lay hands on my children from Red Cloud Mountain? You seek death!"

A small patch of crimson light separated from the vast expanse of red cloud, transforming into a fierce whirlwind vortex, chasing after the large monk with the coarse, fleshy face. The large monk was horrified and desperately urged the yellow flying dragon beneath his feet.

But escaping from a Golden Core stage cultivator was never that easy. The red cloud enveloped the large monk, who was fleeing in terror. Then, incomparably tragic shrieks erupted from within the red cloud, so piercing that it was almost unbearable to listen to.

In a mere moment, a skeleton and a wooden staff dropped out of the red cloud. As for the monks remaining on the ground, their spirits had long since been shattered, and they had died from fright.

Ye Qin felt a chill run through his body, muttering inwardly about his misfortune.

That Red Cloud Ancestor was absolutely a Golden Core stage cultivator. Killing an early Foundation Establishment cultivator was no different from crushing an ant. Whether the Golden Core cultivator could detect his hiding spot, he had no certainty whatsoever. If he had known this, he should have left this accursed place first, even if it meant being discovered by that large monk earlier.

The vast patch of red cloud rapidly shrank, and a middle-aged cultivator, completely clad in a large red robe, with red hair and red eyebrows, descended from the sky. This person was of medium build with ordinary features, except that every inch of his being was red, even his eyeballs.

"Greetings, Ancestor!"

The black-robed cultivator prostrated himself, shamelessly knocking his head over a dozen times without daring to look up.

"Hmph!"

The Red Cloud Ancestor did not spare the black-robed cultivator a glance but looked toward the blood-red sky with great interest, inhaling deeply, licking his lips, and laughing wickedly.

"The flavor of the Iron-Blooded Fiendish Aura here is truly superb. It has been a long time since I encountered such pure, potent Iron-Blooded Fiendish Aura. Fortunately, I arrived in time; otherwise, you little clowns would have wasted it clean. It’s a pity there isn't more. It will be just enough to feed my Iron-Blooded Banner, and with a few more decades of refinement, my banner should emerge."

The Red Cloud Ancestor pulled out a massive blood-colored banner from his storage pouch and violently plunged it into the ground. The banner seemed to churn with a sea of blood, madly absorbing the Iron-Blooded Fiendish Aura gradually dissipating in the sky.

Upon seeing the Red Cloud Ancestor take out the banner, the black-robed cultivator was so frightened that he kept retreating, daring not to approach within a hundred feet of the flag.

In just a moment, the Iron-Blooded Fiendish Aura permeating the sky was completely absorbed by the banner. The blood-colored banner then exuded an increasingly dense aura of killing intent, clearly indicating its power had grown even mightier.

The Red Cloud Ancestor, still unsatisfied, sneered at the black-robed cultivator kneeling in the distance, "The conflicts between the Northern Qi and Great Zhou nations are becoming more intense lately. They are even dispatching their most elite troops. You, boy, go to Great Zhou, pose as a wandering cultivator, infiltrate their army, and diligently gather the latest intelligence on the war between Great Zhou and Northern Qi, reporting back to me at all times. These three small gourds containing Iron-Blooded Fiendish Aura will serve as your reward. If you dare to deceive or hide things from me again, hehe, the oil pot on Red Cloud Mountain is ready for the fuel..."

The black-robed cultivator shuddered violently, but seeing that the Red Cloud Ancestor was not pursuing the matter of him stealing the aura earlier, he was instantly overjoyed and hurriedly replied, "Yes, Ancestor! This disciple will immediately rush to Great Zhou to gather intelligence on the war situation."

After collecting the aura here, the Red Cloud Ancestor spread his robes, ascended into the air, transformed into a giant red cloud, and sped away into the distance. The black-robed cultivator looked up to see the Ancestor depart before daring to rise and pick up the gourds from the ground, hurrying toward the Great Zhou Kingdom.

Ye Qin remained in his hiding spot for a full hour. In the deep night forest, there was no longer any sound. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief, almost unable to stand on his legs. He cursed his bad luck inwardly; he had gained no benefit but instead suffered a fright for nothing.

The only thing that surprised him was that the Red Cloud Ancestor had not discovered him hiding in the woods. While this was partly due to the Red Cloud Ancestor not using his divine sense to meticulously investigate every corner of the forest, it was still enough to prove that the aura-concealing effect of the Sitting-and-Forgetting Scripture was indeed extraordinary.

He cast out a flying sword, leaped onto it, and flew with a heavy heart toward the direction of the Northern Qi capital. The conflict between the Lü clan of Northern Qi and the Zhou clan of Great Zhou was likely far more complex than it appeared, involving the participation of many powerful cultivation forces. (To be continued. To know what happens next, please log in to m for more chapters, supporting the author and legitimate reading!)